Method and means for controlling longitudinal disposition of an insole relative to alast



March 8, 1966 D ETAL METHOD AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING LONGITUDINAL DISPOSITION OF AN INSOLE RELATIVE TO A LAST Filed D60. 50, 1964 84 p I I JOHN B. RE/O ROBERT A. SPENCE INVENTORS g/tm 21% 9 ATTORNEYS United States Patent METHOD AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING LON- GITUDINAL DISPOSITION OF AN INSDLE REL- ATIVE TO A LAST John B. Reid, 1986 Commonwealth Ave., Brighton, Mass., and Robert A. Spence, Hillside Road, Lincoln, Mass.

Filed Dec. 30, 1964, Ser. No. 422,361 5 Claims. (Cl. 12-442) This invention generally relates to the manufacture of footwear and more particularly to certain improvements for assemblying an insole and last with apparatus of the type disclosed in United States Patent No. 3,107,376, granted October 22, 1963.

Such apparatus is employed in the manufacture of footwear to automatically align an insole with the insole supporting bottom portion of a related last having a generally corresponding peripheral contour by displacing any related overlapping peripheral portions until the corresponding peripheral contours of the insole and last bottom coincide in superposed aligned relation whereupon the aligned components can be detachably combined to form an assembled unit. Heretofore, when a manufacturer desired to align a contoured insole of shorter length than the insole supporting bottom portion of a related last, it became necessary to modify the contact members arranged to normally engage and displace the toe portion of the insole into aligned relation with the toe portion of the last bottom. By utilizing a resilient contacting face portion, the toe of the last would compress a portion of the resilient face at the point of contact while the uncompressed portion of the resilient face would continue to exert pressure against the shortened insole toe so as to longitudinally displace the same relative to the last toe until the heel portions of the insole and last were properly aligned.

Accordingly, one of the primary features of the present invention is to control the longitudinal disposition of an insole relative to the insole supporting bottom portion of a related last during the assembling procedure without requiring modification of the insole and last contacting guide assemblies that are arranged to move from a remote position into engagement with related peripheral portions of the insole and last bottom so as to displace any overlapping peripheral portions to a position of final alignment where the corresponding peripheral contours of the insole and last coincide in superposed aligned relation.

It is therefore an important object of this invention to provide an improved method as well as means for varying the relative disposition between the insole supporting bottom portion of a last and associated insole aligning means to regulate the longitudinal displacement of an insole relative to a last during the assemblying procedure.

A further object of the present invention resides in an improved last support for an insole and last assemblying apparatus of the type disclosed in United States Patent No. 3,107,376 which may be adjusted to vary the angle of presentation at which the insole supporting forepart portion of a last is disposed relative to the associated insole and last toe contacting guide assemblies of the assemblying apparatus so as to position the toe portion of an insole in predetermined relation relative to the toe portion of the last bottom in order to control the extent of longitudinal displacement.

Other objects and the entire scope of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawing. It should be understood, however, that the detailed disclosure and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent as the description herein progresses. Reference now being made to the accompanying drawing which form a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to similar parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partial perspective view of an improved last supporting assembly which forms the subject matter of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial schematic side elevation with parts removed of the improved last supporting assembly illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a partial perspective plan view with parts removed of the improved last supporting assembly illustrated in FIGURE 1 showing associated toe and heel alignment guide assemblies in remote retracted position; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the improved heel alignment guide assemblies shown in FIG- URES 1 and 3.

Referring now to the drawings, by incorporating the various improvements of this invention in an insole and last assemblying apparatus of the type disclosed in US. Patent No. 3,107,376, it is possible to align an insole 10 with the bottom portion 26 of a related last 20 notwithstanding desired dimensional variations in either the heel or toe portions of a conventional insole. Manufacturers often prefer to slightly displace the toe portion 14 of an insole 10 longitudinally towards the heel of the last 20 to prevent buckling of the insole during the lasting operation. Alternatively, an insole 10 with an elongated heel portion 13 may be employed when a manufacturer desires to remove the overlapping heel material subsequent to assembly of the components.

This invention was developed to effectively eliminate the former difficulty as well as meet other conditions normally encountered in the manufacture of footwear by merely varying the relative disposition between the bottom portion 26 of the last 20 and the associated toe alignment guide assemblies 84. In this regard, the toe portion 14 of insole 10 can be displaced longitudinally toward the heel of last 20 by an amount related to the angle that the bottom portion 26 of the last forepart makes when presented to the associated toe alignment guide assemblies 84. As schematically illustrated in FIGURE 2, the angle of presentation is formed at the intersection of line 165, which is an imaginary projection taken along the approximate centerline of a plane extending longitudinally along the bottom forepart 26 of the last 20, and line 166-166, which is the line of intersection obtained by an imaginary projected extension taken in the planes formed by the insole and last contacting faces of the toe alignment guide assemblies 84. By varying the angle of presentation, the toe 14 of insole 10 can be longitudinally displaced relative to the toe 25 of the last 20 by an amount related to the extent of the angle. Thus, a decrease in the angle of presentation will increase the magnitude of longitudinal displacement between toe portions 14 and 25 of the insole and last while an increase in the angle of presentation will decrease the longitudinal displacement between points 14 and 25, after assembly.

Referring now to the structural details of the improved last support located in the aligning station 400 of the apparatus illustrated in the drawing, a last supporting heel rest assembly generally identified by the numeral 112 is slidably mounted within a longitudinally extending slot 403 formed in a stationary platform or horizontal deck plate 401 which is supported by suitable structural framework 56. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, heel rest assembly 112 includes an upper heel supporting adapter plate 101 pivotally mounted on top of a vertical pedestal support 111 which may be adjusted as to its longitudinal position along slot 403 and is independently adjustable as to vertical height above the deck plate 401 by means of 3 expandable threaded locking units 113 of conventional design.

Heel supporting adapter plate 101 contains an upstand ing last mounting pin 114 as well as a pair of oppositely disposed upstanding alignment projections 115 and 116 extending laterally from spring clip guide 117. In turn, adapter plate 101 is carried by an adapter plate supporting member 118 which is mounted to pivot about shaft 119 within a longitudinal slot 123 formed in the uppermost section of pedestal 111. An adjustment plate 120, as shown in FIGURE 2, is provided with upper and lower adjustment screws 121 and 122 that are respectively positioned to contact and bear against the adapter plate supporting member 118 at points located above and below pivot shaft 119. By adjustment of these screws, the adapter plate supporting member 118 may be pivotally moved about shaft 119 causing the last supporting adapter plate 101 and its associated heel mounting pin 114 to either tip towards the heel alignment assembly 160 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURES 1 and 2 or counterclockwise towards the toe alignment assemblies 84 which are shown in FIGURE 3 and described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 3,107,376, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference rather than repeated merely for the sake of brevity. Thus, adapter plate 101, being pivotally interconnected with pin 119, can be adjustably raised or depressed causing the bottom foremost portion 26 of last to be presented to the toe alignment guide assemblies 84 at any desired angle in order to regulate the longitudinal displacement of the insole in the manner previously described.

As previously noted, manufacturers often employ insoles which are longitudinally elongated at the heel portion requiring subsequent removal of the excess material. In this regard, the heel alignment guide assemblies generally identified by the numerals 130 and 140 serve to effectively align the heel portion 13 of the insole with the last heel portion 23 notwithstanding longitudinal elongation of the insole heel since the space formed between the oppositely disposed faces of the converging guide plates 132 and 142 will serve to accommodate any excess material without interfering with coincident alignment of the corresponding peripheral portions of the insole and last.

Referring now to the structural details of the improved heel alignment assembly generally identified by the numeral 160, separate left and right guide assemblies 130 and 140 each employ respective upstanding plate deflectors 132 and 142 slidably mounted for lateral adjustment on plates 433 which in turn are adjustably secured for vertical movement tov related left and right heel displacement arms 430 and 431 of the type disclosed in United States Patent No. 3,107,376. As illustrated in FIGURE 4, mounting plates 433 contain vertical slots 490 which permit vertical adjustment relative to arms 430 and 431 while horizontal slots 434 are provided to permit lateral adjustment of deflection plate mounting tabs 133 and 143 within the recessed guideways 134 and 144 respectively. With regard to the last and insole contacting portions of the left and right heel guide plates 132 and 142 carried by the slidably mounted tabs 133 and 143, the leading edges of the same are contoured in such a manner that'upper edges and'145 converge inwardly to generally conform with the heel profile of a conventional last, as shown in FIGURE 3, yet are separated adjacent their terminal edges a sufficient distance to avoid interfering with the longitudinal displacement of an elongated insole heel portion.

It is to be understood that, although several preferred embodiments of this invention have been shown in the drawing and described with considerably particularity in the foregoing specification, the present invention is not limited to the specific details of construction, shown and described, but includes all modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. In the manufacture-of footwear, a method of controlling longitudinal disposition of an insole relative to a related insole supporting portion of a last comprising the stepsof (1) applying an external force to longitudinally displace said insole relative to the insole supporting portion of said last and (2) selectively varying the angle of presentation at which the insole supporting portion of said last is disposed relative to the direction of the insole displacing force so as to position said insole in predetermined longitudinal relation relative to the insole supporting portion of said last.

2. In an insole and last assembling apparatus provided with insole and last contacting means moveable from remote to contacting position for longitudinally displacing an insole relative to a related insole supporting portion of a last, an improved last support provided with means for selectively regulating the angular disposition of the insole supporting portion of said last relative to said contacting means so as to position said-insole in predetermined longitudinal relation relative to the insole supporting portion of said last.

3. An improved last support as defined in claim 2 which includes a supporting base member, a last supporting member interconnected with said supporting base member, and means associated with said last supporting member to selectively regulate the-angular disposition thereof relative to said supporting base member.

4. An improved last support as defined in claim 3 wherein said supporting base memberand Said last supporting member are pivotally interconnected.

5. An improved last support of thetypedefined in claim 2 wherein the extent of angular disposition between the insole supporting portion of said last and said contacting means predetermines the magnitude of longitudinal displacement of said insole relative to the insole supporting portion of said last.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,209,425 7/1940 Steinhilber 12-.126 2,984,847 5/1961 Maeser 12-1 3,092,861 6/1963 Reid et a1. 12-142 3,099,026 7/1963 Reid et a1. 12142 3,107,376 10/1963 Reid et al. 12-1 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FOOTWEAR, A METHOD OF CONTROLLING LONGITUDINAL DISPOSITION OF AN INSOLE RELATIVE TO A RELATED INSOLE SUPPORTING PORTION OF A LAST COMPRISING THE STEPS OF (1) APPLYING AN EXTERNAL FORCE TO LONGITUDINALLY DISPLACE SAID INSOLE RELATIVE TO THE INSOLE SUPPORTING PORTION OF SAID LAST AND (2) SELECTIVELY VARYING THE ANGLE OF PRESENTATION AT WHICH THE INSOLE SUPPORTING PORTION OF SAID LAST IS DISPOSED RELATIVE TO THE DIRECTION OF THE INSOLE DISPLACING FORCE SO AS TO POSITION SAID INSOLE IN PREDETERMINED LONGITUDINAL RELATION RELATIVE TO THE INSOLE SUPPORTING PORTION OF SAID LAST. 